June 26 (Bloomberg) -- ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc.,
owner of the pest-control service Terminix, gained in its
trading debut after raising $610 million in a U.S. initial
public offering.

After pricing the IPO at $17 each, ServiceMaster rose 5.6
percent to $17.95 at the close of trading in New York. The
shares had been offered for $18 to $21. The shares are listed on
the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SERV.

At $17 a share, ServiceMaster has a market value of $2.2
billion, according to the terms of its original filing. The
Memphis, Tennessee-based company’s stable of products also
includes American Home Shield Brands, which offers warranty
coverage on household appliances, and home-cleaning service
Merry Maids. It will use the money it raised to pay off debt.

ServiceMaster is returning to the public markets about
seven years after private-equity fund Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
LLC led a buyout of the company in a $5.5 billion deal. The
company will pay some of its private-equity owners $21 million
to terminate consulting agreements with them, according to the
IPO filing. CD&R isn’t selling any shares in the offering.

More than half of ServiceMaster’s $2.3 billion in revenue
comes from its Terminix brand last year, the company said in
regulatory filings. Terminix has been on a buying spree as it
tries to cement its status as the largest pest control company
in the world.

In May, it said it purchased assets of eight pest control
companies across ten states, and that it plans to keep doing so.
Last September, Terminix said it acquired Care Pest & Wildlife,
the largest pest control company in British Columbia.

The offering is the largest U.S. sale by a commercial
services company since Aramark raised $834 million in December,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Aramark is up 28
percent since its debut.